Page 93 of Spilling the Tea

“I take it you didn’t tell your family about it?” Alex asked.

“No, and I asked Zoey not to mention anything about what Ravena said to Chance. Now I’m asking you not to mentionanything to anyone either. You know how overprotective my family can be. Ravena’s lack of manners doesn’t concern me. What does concern me is the idea that she knows something about that necklace, Alexander. The one Zoey wears.”

Alex appeared confused. “Is there something about the necklace I need to know?”

Felicia Laverne took a deep breath and said softly, “Spilling the tea about the family is difficult, Alexander. However, chances are you’ll find out everything during your investigation since you’re known to be thorough. I’m the only living soul who knows what I’m about to tell you, and depending on what you find out, I will decide what I need to tell the family.”

***

Zoey placed the diary aside when her phone rang. It was Chance. She was hoping he would call. “Hello.”

“I miss you.”

Chance’s words gave her pause. She doubted he knew how much they meant to her, especially after meeting his ex-­girlfriend today, who’d let it be known she wanted him back and planned to get him. “I missed you, too.”

“That’s good to hear, baby. How did your meeting with Mama Laverne go today?”

“Fine. I took her to the knit shop for yarn and supplies. Then we had lunch at the café next door. It was nice spending time with her.” Should she mention anything about meeting Ravena? She’d promised his great-grandmother she wouldn’t tell him what was said but there was no reason not to mention meeting his ex-fiancée.

“I met Ravena Boyle today.”

He didn’t say anything and she wondered if he’d heard her. She was about to repeat her words when he asked, “Where did the two of you meet?”

“At the café where Ms. Felicia Laverne and I had lunch. She came to our table, and your great-grandmother introduced us.”

“I see. Did Mama Laverne answer all your questions about your great-grandfather Waylon and my great-grandaunt Victoria?”

He’d deliberately moved their discussion from Ravena. Why? “Yes, and it was like you said. She hadn’t mentioned it because she hadn’t felt it was necessary to do so. It was before my great-grandparents had married, and although Waylon and Deedra didn’t love each other, they made their marriage work.”

“Did you finish reading Deedra’s diary?”

“Yes, and tonight I started on Arabella’s. Already I see she was a daddy’s girl. The two of them were extremely close. So, how is your meeting going?”

“It’s going well. Uncle Jake will be the keynote speaker tomorrow.”

They talked for a few minutes longer and ended the call with him—in his sexiest voice—telling her to dream about him. She replied in kind. “Trust me, Chance, I will.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

“Iam glad you’re having more flashbacks, Zoey. Hopefully, in time, your entire memory will return.”

“I’m hoping that, too, Lucky.” She eased from the sofa and gazed out the window. There was a splendid view of the lake to her left and a wide-open plain to her right. “I love this cabin. And knowing my great-grandfather built it with his own hands for Victoria, the woman he loved, makes it special.”

“So, what do you have planned, Zoey?”

Zoey lifted a brow as she walked to the kitchen to check on dinner. “Planned for what?”

“Chance’s homecoming. You did say he would be back tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. Am I supposed to have something planned?”

“Men like welcome-home sex. Just ask Burke.”

Zoey laughed. “I won’t ask Burke any such thing. I’ll take your word for it.”

“So, are you going to do it, Zoe?”

“Of course not. What you’re suggesting is totally not me.”

---